The King visits a triangle
by SendBobAndVegana
Summary: After his defeat during Weirdmageddon, Bill Cipher is visited in his Nightmare Realm by an ancient king more bent on destruction than even he.


Bill Cipher sat upon his mighty throne, which just so happened to be a purple La-Z-Boy recliner, as he contemplated his next move. All around him the chaos of the Nightmare Realm swirled and collided. His henchmaniacs, along with numerous other monstrosities that called the realm home, were hurling all manner of weapons and chaotic inventions at each other. Destroying themselves and then reforming again in an endless cycle that only barely fueled their lust for destruction and death.

However, this all went unnoticed to Bill, as his mind was elsewhere. That elsewhere being Gravity Falls and the colossal failure he had suffered there at the hands of a couple blundering primates only a few weeks ago in the third dimension's time. In the time since he'd managed to reform and return to his role as ruler of this decaying realm. Although he had yet to find the time until now to put serious thought into his revenge. Mainly due to a couple of coups some of his lesser minions attempted. Or was it questions as to the events that happened in Gravity Falls? Bill couldn't even remember. To be completely honest, it sort of became muddled once the exsanguination and disembowelment began. But that's neither here nor there. He needed to focus his mind on more important things.

After some deliberation, Bill surmised that his supposed end at the hands of the aforementioned primates might have actually worked in his favor. As long as they believed he was gone for good, their guard would inevitably fall. None of them were aware of the favor he called in with old frilly head before his "death", and in time, they would inevitably push Bill to the back of their minds. Only for him to return full force and make them wish they had never existed in the first place! As to how he'd return to seek such vengeance, Bill was tossing some ideas around. But he figured now was the time for a bit of a morale boost. Bill's eyes instantaneously turned from contemplation to mirth as he rose to address his minions.

" ATTENTION ALL!" Bill declared as he manifested his cane and gesticulated it towards his underlings. "In light of recent events that took place in Gravity Falls, many of you have probably given up hope on returning to the third dimension?"

There were several murmurs and growls of agreement among the multitude.

"Well I am happy to be the first to put such fears to rest! We are far from through with Gravity Falls." With the snap of his fingers, he manifested a tiny version of the aforementioned town, complete with tiny replicas of its human inhabitants to complete the look, hovering in front of him.

"A small misstep is far from the ending my ultimate plan. In fact, it only makes my victory more certain. They threw everything they had at me and I'm back good as new. What will be left for Gravity Falls to do when we return in full force after their soft primate minds have long become complacent towards the threat I... I mean we pose?" The denizens of the Nightmare Realm were roaring and shrieking now as the model Gravity Falls was engulfed in flames, and its miniature inhabitants shrieked in horror and pain. "Burn!" The town morphed into the shape of a question mark before crumbling to ash.

Bill, satisfied with making his point, manifested a martini glass filled with Time Punch which he sipped as he surveyed his army. They were now in a full-blown riot that dwarfed whatever madness they had been participating in before. Simply seeding the idea of return and triumph into their minds was all they needed to be placated while he set the machinations of his victory in place.

As they reveled, Bill began formulating a plan that would keep the Pines family, especially ol' Sixer, assured enough in their victory for him to slip under their radar. He knew that they'd never completely forget him. He was quite the charmer. But if a new enemy was created. A new Big Bad to occupy their minds and resources. It would be there that he would find an opportunity to slip back in and exact his sweet, sweet revenge. Bill had more than a few people in mind for this task. He only needed to make a couple of house c...

Bill's locomotive of thought came to an abrupt stop when he sensed a change in his surroundings. His near-omniscient state in the Nightmare Realm had just informed him that a new presence had entered his domain. This in itself was not unusual due to the Nightmare Realm position as a space between universes. New visitors were almost commonplace here, usually arriving through the occasional wormhole or malfunctioning dimensional gateway. However, whatever had just so rudely intruded on Bill's domain had done so by forcefully tearing through the dense space-time barriers surrounding the realm that even Bill himself couldn't breach. Whatever this intruder was, it was undoubtedly powerful and quite likely a foe due to the unannounced nature of the intrusion. His minions had also begun to take notice of this visitor and began materializing weapons of all sorts to greet the uninvited guest.

Bill wheeled around to face the intruder at its entry point, a large portal that opened into a pitch-black void. The dream demon ignited his signature blue flames and grew to a kaiju-sized flaming pyramid. The intruder had yet to take any physical form. However, bright scarlet-colored miasma had begun seeping out from the tear and began encompassing the entire realm in its hue at a surprising speed.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU RSVP'D, BUDDY," he thundered. "I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SHOW YOU TO THE DOOR!"

The surrounding demons snarled and roared in agreement with his threat. There was no reaction from the encroaching scarlet; however, as it continued to completely blanket his realm. Then the scarlet began to shift and pulse in an area in front of Bill. Slowly, a figure began rising from the scarlet sea like a towering monolith emerging from the sand. A deafening silence fell as its height steadily grew. Not even his normally rowdy henchman made a sound.

Upon reaching its full height, the being towered above even Bill. It took the form of a bright red humanoid wearing an intricate steel armor. Complex patterns and symbols encompassed large portions of the armor's surface, with similar symbols always found in groups of seven. Along with the patterns and symbols, faces of countless beings, twisted in agony, writhed and convulsed throughout the entity's form. Massive obsidian spikes of varying length protruded across its body and seven on each shoulder rose to heights of hundreds of meters. The arms were shrouded within a massive cape emerging from atop its shoulders. The face of the being had a black visor covering its upper half, with the only facial feature visible being an immense, cavernous mouth that was currently pressed closed in a hard line. A mass of pitch-black antlers rose from atop its head and, at their center, a crown made of flame levitated. A king. The Scarlet King.

This realization quickly dawned on Bill, and he promptly extinguished his flames but decided to keep his size. In the face of a being like this, some show of power was a must. It had been eons since Bill had last been in the presence of the Scarlet King, but the echoes of his recent exploits had reached even his remote Nightmare Realm. Bill knew all too well that the old king hadn't come all the way here himself to discuss the weather or how the grandkids have been. So it would be best for Bill to figure out what he wanted as soon as possible.

"Well if it isn't tall, dark, and all-consuming! You know a bit of forewarning would have been appreciated. Just waltzing into someone else's kingdom uninvited can lead to some rather... unpleasant events."

The Scarlet King's immense mouth opened for the first time since he entered the realm in a motion akin to a mountain being carved apart by a river in fast-forward. From its depths issued a voice that sounded more like an earthquake than anything with vocal cords.

"I enter wherever, whenever I please, Cipher. With even less regard for an abysmal dimensional backwater such as this."

"Ouch. You know, frankly, I'm hurt" Bill said with exaggerated emotion. Bill felt that he should've been angered by this statement, but to be fair, there wasn't much to see in the Nightmare Realm. Which had always been more like a prison to him than a kingdom to take pride in.

"Uncalled for insults aside, what is so urgent that Discount Satan would come all the way out here? I hope it isn't a declaration of love. Axolotl knows I've had enough creepy fan fiction written about me."

"Enough of the inane prattling, Cipher. I will only warn you once."

"Alright, alright. I just needed to void my bowels of it, so to speak. So again I ask, what brings you 'round these here parts?"

"The end. The Tree is crumbling under my onslaught. With each branch I destroy, another universe is set asunder. Millions have been broken already, including one of the Triumvirate branches. Soon the branch containing Universe: Günbatar birtüýsli will meet its end. The universe you previously failed to invade. Since interference with the machinations being set in place for my arrival will not be tolerated, you will immediately cease all plans for another invasion."

"Look, buddy. I really appreciate your omnicidal hatred and all. Admire it actually! But you really need to keep it to your side of the multiversal tree. I have my own plans for this universe that require it to continue existing." Bill slowly began to reignite the blue flames around his body. He'd been correct (as always) in guessing that the intruder was an enemy.

"You are in no position to make demands, Cipher. I hold the power here. The only reason I am ordering you instead of annihilating you and your ilk is that you might be of some use during the final stages of my victory. However, you are far from pivotal to such plans."

Throughout the encounter, Bill had tried his best to keep his cool and discuss things in a somewhat cordial manner. He was well aware that immediately jumping into a confrontation with the Scarlet King would be far more trouble than it's worth. But the blatant insults and condescension he was regarded with, in front his own army no less, finally knocked the cap off his temper. His eyes turned bright red and the blue flames returned in full force as he rose to meet the height of the king.

"NOT ONLY DO YOU INTRUDE ON MY KINGDOM, BUT YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO THREATEN ME AND ATTEMPT TO IMPEDE MY VENGEANCE!"

The Scarlet King did not react to his rage. Instead, he stood completely stoic and unmoving, which only served to anger Bill more.

"You really need to learn some MANNERS!" Bill screamed as he fired a barrage of blue energy bolts at him.

Each blast had the power to wipe a city completely off the map, and he was firing hundreds of them per second. However, not a single one found its target as they were all stopped short upon hitting a flaming wall that had been erected seemingly instantly. In a quick flash of blue light, each blast was absorbed into the wall. Bill quickly realized what the king was doing and teleported himself a distance away behind his charging army. He figured they would buy him enough time to think of something.

The charging horde of nightmares began conjuring and firing everything from MOABs to magic spells that could turn a town to raving lunacy at the Scarlet King, who still hadn't moved since the initial attack. All these projectiles met the same fate as Bill's original attack, instantly absorbed into the flaming wall. Some of the army attempted to flank around the wall and attack from the sides, only to have their path barred as the wall formed into a complete perimeter around the king.

The ones capable of flight moved towards the top of the wall and readied to unleash a massive volley upon him. However, upon cresting the top of the wall they witnessed the king moving his arm out from under his cape in a swift motion. They didn't even have time to register what this could mean before they were completely engulfed in flames. The wall had rapidly expanded outward in all directions, propelled not only by the Scarlet King's strength but also by the energy from the previous attacks that were collected in the barrier. The searing heat of Scarlet King's flames purged every nightmare in the army in one fell blow. The incomprehensibly hot flames burned their physical bodies in an instant and then their very souls. Even the vile inhabitants of the Nightmare Realm had some spiritual form, and the Scarlet King's fire obliterated any connection these forms had with any form of reality. Sending them headlong into unfeeling oblivion.

Bill looked up in surprise as the flames dissipated and all that was left of his minions was ash. They were defeated far faster than he thought, he had yet to form any real plan, and the Scarlet King was now heading swiftly towards him.

Backed into a corner, Bill quickly conjured a multitude of chaos bubbles and sent them towards him at rocket speed. The hundreds of bubbles began surrounding the king from all directions, carving pathways of madness as they went. The Scarlet King didn't even spare them a glance as he dispelled them with a simple sweep of the hand.

Before Bill could retaliate any further he felt something cold and metallic moving all across his body, painfully jabbing and scrapping him as it went. He looked down to see dozens of massive pitch-black chains studded intermittently with spikes wrapping around his form at lighting speed. In a real panic now, Bill desperately tried to teleport away but the moment he even finished the thought the chains constricted. Slicing deeply into his form and damaging him faster than he could regenerate. Just like the flames, the chains caused a pain that transcended simple physical torture. It tore at the consciousness itself, brutally searing away its connections with reality. Bill's near-omnipotent state in the Nightmare Realm only worsened the agony as he felt his mind being forcefully torn from deep within the realm's essence. However, he was far from giving up and with a burst of energy he directed a roar of raw fury towards the Scarlet King.

"WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS THING I SWEAR I'LL SKIN Y..." Bill's furious ranting morphed into another scream of agony when a chain slid over the top of his eye and sliced it down the middle. Causing a stream of fluid to burst out and Bill to shake violently out of pain and rage.

"AGAIN? COME ON!"

In a final bid for freedom, Bill began glowing bright white while conjuring all the energy he could to burst the chains. With a scream of fury, Bill shattered the chains around him and shot upward in the air to gain a vantage point for another shot. Mustering all of his remaining firepower, Bill made a finger gun and fired a single continuous blast that was tenfold the strength of the blast he used to vaporize the Time Baby.

The Scarlet King reacted to the blast that shot towards him at light speed with only a slight hint of bored exasperation. Out of the shadows of his cape, he unsheathed a massive flaming sword that met the blast right as it reached him. The sword was pushed back momentarily, only for it to glow white-hot with an energy volley of its own. These white flames began to slowly push Bill's blast back. The sheer amount of energy created by their clash was causing the dimension itself to crumble. Tears and rifts began forming all around them, and it wouldn't be long until the Nightmare Realm collapsed in on itself.

Realizing this, Bill took notice of a rift to his left that opened into some random galaxy. He had longed for an escape from this dump for millenniums, maybe not in this exact way, but at this point, he had no opportunity to be picky. The demon knew he was going to lose this battle. He could feel his energy-sapping fast and the Scarlet King has shown no signs of faltering strength. In an instant, Bill ended his attack and teleported out of the way of the now unimpeded flames. He reappeared right in front of the rift and tried to fly through it to freedom.

However, before he could make his long-awaited escape, hundreds of more chains began to burst from the scarlet sea around him. Along with the previous adornments of spikes, some had bear traps implanted in them while others seemed to be made entirely of knives dipped in acid. They all began relentlessly tearing chunks out of him as he fought against them, desperately trying to reach freedom that was just out of his reach.

Suddenly, Bill and chains restraining him were pulled backward. Steadily they returned to the Scarlet King, who was pulling them telepathically.

"Not a wise choice, Cipher." He said in an almost disappointed tone "Your fixation for simple chaos will always be your undoing. If only you would have realized your childish chaotic antics were nothing more than a thinly-veiled disguise for your unending hatred of all reality. Then you could have used your energy for something worthwhile."

"Yeah sorry, pal. The whole pedo sex cult scene was never really my thing if that's what you mea..." Bill's retort was cut off by a sudden tightening of the chains encasing him.

"Insolent fool." the Scarlet King snarled " No matter, your powers will soon be put to good use."

Ahead of them, a new rift opened. A red light shone from within and smoke billowed out into the remnants of the Nightmare Realm. The Scarlet King walked through without a second thought. Right before Bill and his prison were pulled through as well, he couldn't help but spare a thought to irony of the situation. He had waited for so long to be free from his prison and now he was. But something told Bill whatever was in store ahead would be far worse.


End file.
